Sanitary drinking-fountain.



P, MUELLER 62 A. C. SOHUERMANN. SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTALN. APPLICATIONrim-"JD LIAR.28,19113 Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

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PHILIP MUELLER AND ANTON C. SOI-IUERMANN, F DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORSTO H. MUELLER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

SANITARY DRINKING-FOUNTAIN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PHILIP MUELLER and ANTON C. SCHUERMANN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon and Stateof Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in SanitaryDrinking-Fountains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drinking fountains, and has for its chiefobject to produce a drinking fountain that is sanitary and that may beinstalled in schools, public buildings, hospitals, railway stations andlike places where it can be attached to a regular drinking fountainbowl, to a special faucet or to any other suitable service fit ting,suitable means being provided for catching the overflow water.

The basic principle of this invention is to produce an unbroken circularsheet of water flowing outwardly and upwardly or downwardly, from thecenter of which circular sheet there is projected in a verticaldirection a streani bubbling water for drinking purposes. This principleis reduced to practice by means of a nozzle of peculiar constructioninto one end of which, water enters from a single pipe or otherconnection, and through one of two separate passage-ways, the water isconducted to a nipple having a central outlet for the drinking stream,while from the other passageway water passes around said nipple andemerges in a thin unbroken sheet just beneath the cap or head of saidnipple, which is made adjustable to regulate the direction, force andtenuity of said sheet of water. The outflow of water through and aroundthe nipple is regulated by suitable independent means in each passagewayso arranged as to be separately adjustable exterior of the nozzle forthe purpose of regulating the pressure and quantity of water flowingfrom the two outlets. One of said regulating means when properly setwill cause the drinking stream to bubble or flow to such a height that aperson can obtain a drink therefrom without lettinghis lips come incontact with the nipple; the other regulating means controls the amountand force of water flowing to and forming the circular or protectingsheet. The protecting sheet of water at the base of the drinking streamis caused to flow in such direction that when a p son attempts to puthis lips Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 28, 1911.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911. Serial No. 617,476.

on the nipple, the water of the protecting sheet will splash into hisface and nose and thereby cause him to withdraw his mouth from thenipple.

The shape and configuration of the invention is such as to leave noreceptacles or other means for holding or catching any foreigndeleterious substances, and if any should come in contact with thefountain they are readily washed away on account of the novelfrusto-conical shape of the nozzle or fountain, and readily fall awayfrom the sides thereof.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure1 is a vertical central sectional view. view showing in side elevationthe various parts forming the nozzle disassembled and arranged in line.Fig.3 is a top plan view of the nozzle. Fig. 4 is a top view of a detailof the invention, Fig. 5 is aside view Fig. 2 1s a j of the inventionshowing a modified construction.

Like reference characters are used to designate the same parts in allthe figures.

In the drawing, which shows only the nozzle used in connection with thedrinking fountain, 1 represents the body portion thereof, in the base ofwhich is an interiorly screw threaded opening 2, through which waterenters the nozzle from an inlet pipe or any suitable service fitting.Two p'assageways 3 and 4 are bored vertically into the body 1 from theopening 2, the passageway 3 extending part way in the body and thepassageway 4L passing entirely through it. A central opening 5 passesdownwardly into the body 1 and is connected at its bottom by a port (3with the passageway 3. The upper end of said opening is preferablyenlarged and screw threaded to receive a threaded stem 7 projecting fromthe underside of a spreader 8 having a depression 9 formed in it fromabove, said cavity being screw threaded as shown. The underside of thebatiie plate has formed therein an em nular groove 10 preferablysemicircular in cross-section.

The upper end of the body 1, which is of slightly greater diameter thanthe baflie plate 8 is exteriorly threaded to receive the threaded lowerend of a hollow frusto-conical shell 11, the smaller end of said shellbeing directed upwardly and is provided with a central opening 12,through which the nip-- ple passes inwardly and is threaded at its lowerend within a nut 14 having exnut is screwed down,

terior screw threads to engage the threads formed in the depression 9.The nut 14 has a cavity 15 in its underside into which enters but doesnot fill, a dome-shaped battling member 16 having a flange 17 into whichare vcut grooves 18 as shown, said battling member being held in thedepression 9 by the nut- 14, the thin outer edge of which, when the thehead 20 is providedwith an annular groove 21. Anannular groove 22 isalso formed in the upper edge of the shell ll, these grooves cooperatingto deflect the protecting sheet of water and direct it in the desireddirection. v

A screw plug 25 serves as a valve to regulate the quantity of waterpassing through the passageway 3, and a like valve 26 projects into thepassageway 4 for a simila'r pur ose.

T e parts being constructed and assembled as described, when water ispermitted to enter through the opening 2 it passes upwardly through thepassage-ways 3 and 4, that in the passage-way 3 entering the opening 5through the port 6 and from thence through a channel 27 in the stem 7 ofthe baflie plate or spreader 8, where it strikes against the undersideof the baffling member 16 and is deflected laterally and thereby causedto-pass through the slots 18 into the cavit 15 in the underside of thenut 14,

and rom thence through the nipple to formthe-drinking stream. Theopeningin the nipple through 'which said stream passes may have verticalgrooves 28 to make the drinkingstream a bubbling one. From thepassageway 4 the water passes upwardly and strikes the groove 10 in theunderside of the baffling plate or spreader 8, the shape of-which groovedeflects the water downwardly and outwardly, causing it-to pass aroundthe periphery of said bafiie plate or spreader which is spaced but ashort distance from the body of the nozzle 1. Passing upwardly throughthe shell 11 this.

water makes its exit through the opening 12 in the top of said shell,said opening by the introduction of the nozzle 13 thereinto is reducedto a narrow annular channel thereby causing the water as it passesoutward to impinge against the groove in the underside of the head 20 ofthe nipple, which deflects it downwardly into the groove 22 in the upperend of the shell and from thence it is forced outwardly and slightlyupwardly in the form of anunbroken cirbearing on the top of cular sheet.The height towhich said sheet rises is sufficient to cause the waterthereof to enter the face and nose of a drinker who attempts to put hislips against the nozzle while drinking. The spread of the circular sheetof water and the height to which it. may rise are regulated by screwing-the nipple closer to 'and from the shell 11,

'In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the openings in the sides of the bodyof the noz-- zle through which the regulating means 25 and 26 areadjusted are shown ex osed. The nozzle may, however, be provi ed with a.shield 31 as shown in Fig. 5, by elongating the body 1 slightly andchanging the position of the polygonal collar 30 from the bottom of thebody to a higher position as shown in the latter figure. The shield 31has a polygonal flange or nut 32 on its lower end for rotating the same.I

Having fully described our invention what we claim as new 1s:-

1. A drlnklng fountain havlng a nozzle provided with/two independentwater 'passageways therein, an adjustable nipple having a flaring headand a central opening,

means connecting said nipple with one of said passageways through whichwater from the said passageway may pass only to the nipple to form thedrinking stream, and an encircling shell surrounding the lower end ofsaid nipple and the connecting means having an opening in its upper endslightly larger than said nipple and encircling the same, formingthereby an annular outlet for the water passing through the secondindependent passageway and through said shell around the nippleconnecting means to form an encircling sheet below the head of thenipple.

2. A drinking fountain having a nozzle,

provided withtwo independent water passageways therein, an adjustablenipple having a flaring head and a central opening,

means connecting said'nipple with one of said passageways, through whichwater from said passageway may pass only'to the nipple to forma drinkingstream, said' connecting means having an enlar ed cavity therein,'. abathing member in said cavity, andan encircling shell surrounding thelower end of said l'llppleand the connecting means having an opening init's upper end slightly larger than said nipple and'enci'rcling thesame, forming thereby an annular outlet for the water passing throughthe second independent passageway and through said shell around thenipple connectin'g means to form an encircling sheet below the head ofthe nipple. I

3. A drinking fountain having a nozzle provided with two independentpassageways therein, means for regulating the flow of water through eachpassageway, an adjustable nipple having a flaring head and a central'opening, a separable removable two-part ple and encircling the same,forming thereby an annular outlet for the water passing through the indeendent passageway, and

' through said shel around the nipple connecting below the head of thenipple.

4. A drinkin fountain comprising a nozzle, the body 0 which has twoseparate passageways formed therein, a nipple having a centralopeningand a flaring head, the under surface of which is provided withan annular groove, means connecting said nipple with said body throughwhich water flows from one of said passageways out through the openingin the nipple to form the'drinking stream, and a shell movably.

attached to the body surrounding the lower end of said nipple and saidconnecting. means, said shell-being smaller at its upper end andprovided with an annular groove adapted to coiiperate with the groove inthe means to form an encircling sheet 1 which the latter passes, theupper edge of head of said nipple, whereby water passing through thesecond passageway and the shell, nd emerging from said shell in the formofi a sheet beneath the flaring head of the nipple is deflected in anoutward direction 5. A drinking fountain comprising a nozzle the body ofwhich has two separate pas sageways formed therein, a regulating meansin each passageway, a nipple having a flar ing head grooved on itsunder, side and a central opening for the outlet of the drinking stream,a deflect r connected to the X102- zle body having a cavity in its upperside connected by a central openingwith one of said passageways, and anannular groove in its under side the edges of which are slightly spacedfrom the nozzle, body, a' screw connection between said deflector andthe nipple, and a shell connected to the base inclosmg the lower part ofthe nipple, the deflector and the connection between them, said shellhaving an opening in its end slightly larger than the nipple, throughsaid shell havingan annular groove to cooperate with the groove in thenipple head that flows-from the second passageway to as for spreadingthe water in a circular sheet the groove in the deflector and 'thencethrough the casing around the nozzle.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto.

and out through the space 1 p set our hands in presence of twosubscrib-

